Pingu

How's the head this morning old chum 

Today there is nothing to do really with 4+ inches of snow outside 

Brilliant work there on tractor and plough look brilliant now what about that 930 in your avatar;) :P

Nanna (Dads mother) went for a camera scan last week, showed a lump. She did have a scan booked yesterday but it was postponed due to technicalities with the machine. The camera did show the obvious though. Today Nanna has a visit from the Macmillan nurses. . .

Just keep chin up mate and were all always here

The one's I have got are very hard workers thank you

Thinking very hard dont worry 

Been to look at a job in Norfolk and been offered it if want it so now do some thinking

Arh ok Phil,cheers for that.Could not spring plough the last of the paddock then?

I suggested it but boss wanted plough parked up and water drained out of the wheels of the deere start getting it ready for other jobs

How was the JD clinic bigx?

why not plough the snow under phill?it's only water right? I've seen it done in germany.

Mainly due to like goon said it can lower the soil temperature too much low down and can take a long while in spring for it to warm up properly especially down at the depth it was ploughed under too.  Then have also know for yield to suffer for it not to sure what reason for this is but will try find out

Finished ploughing for 2010, now shouldn't really plough in snow but gotta get it done and was last 10 acres so was told just to get it done so following orders.     Lets just say grip was a big big issue

Just had rent people sending snotty letter saying owe them best part £500 but only 3 weeks ago we were in credit by £350 as something had happened and told not to pay rent till was sorted as was all working there end. So rang them up very sharpish and they still don't know what's happening got some manager ringing me Monday! So paid 90% of it just so covered and even if aren't that far in debt we'll be covered for few weeks > > > 

I'm on number 8's as well but where I'm really heavy stuff that sticks to the boards I'm struggling for grip so tyres are squashing last furrow and the furrow wall slightly so its not getting enough soil to throw to fill it fully its only slightest little line, like I said when on better ground even heavyish matches a treat and looks perfect just when on snot and heavy clay wheel squashes to much and cant go fast enough to cover it (down to 3-4k and dont have wheelslip monitor to say basic deere ;D ), if making sense?

Weren't too bad but not dry enough for on-land ploughing so boss decided to get on and back in the furrow I went but cant get 650's to match up in these conditions only on light stuff with no wheel slip :'(

This was novelty ploughing in furrow today

Great pictures wish had a deere that size on our plough, and they are heavy tris over 3 ton metal well thats what headstock says on ours

its a Norfolk thing ;D ;D

And I'm trying to move up there what am I letting myself in for

Now I have very much enjoyed this topic and some spark debate dont mean for it to go round and round, I very much agree lorrys are the answer for bigger longer hauls and can never work out farmers doing long hauls just for sake of having another 200acres of crops.  I use my judgement more then anything I know the law is there and do try to abide by it, I'm not one to go 50 k just because I can and only will if everything I feel up to standard and roads are safe etc not just flat out round country lanes cause I can there's hell of a lot weight there to stop!

I need to find better run arable farm then as never seem to have any time in harvest even decent nights sleep   I'm all for the law being changed but defiantly think needs to be done with tests etc and then the number plates of said tractors and associated trailer on database so Police can see who's running legally and safe and the ones that think they can get away with it cause some others are legal.

Interesting reading Jez our test was only just bit curiosity as lorrys said they thought our brakes were good, but interesting to hear even commercial brakes still arn't good enough under test circumstances

I'm not far off a lorry stopping distance with the right equipment we have tested this with a local lorry firm we use for everything long distance hauls and all outgoings.  I understand that lorrys are alot tougher and have to follow alot more rules.  But we use as safe equipment as we can and with experienced drivers with few ours being lorry drivers themselves with 30+years experience so I try and learn off them!  But modern tractor tyres can cope with modern speeds I know for a fact the Michilin tyres we use are rated to 65kph and the trailer tyres up to 80kph.  I know the laws are there for a reason but are very outdated I'm happy to take HGV and have all our tractors and trailers MOT'd as I know there all well serviced.  I know its my life/ license on the line and I use my judgement when speed is appropriate and weight and I will run trailer half full if I know its not safe.  I'm by no means saying the law needs to be up to lorry level just increase speed and weight and we'll happily take more test's and license all I've been saying law is out of date. But I'm sorry to say I will go at 50kph when its safe as normaly its the difference between finishing at 1am and not 2+am to be back at work at 7am that is no excuse but I have yet to work or know of a modern large arable unit where this is not the case! And like with this year harvest you are not gonna stop cutting wheat at 11pm if its still 13% keep going till due hits.  I'm sorry if this isn't following the law but every single farmer I know and have worked with are the same and will take more test and MOT to be legal!

I'm sorry but to have a suspended rear axle of a tractor I cant see it makes any difference in tractors really as often they'll never do larger distance's as longer then 40 miles (round-trip) from base and your not making any money full stop and having used properly specced safe kit as in dual line air brakes, abs, exhaust brakes, suspended axle + cab, front axle brakes at 50k and yes up to a all up weight of 35tons (off road) I could stop a hell of a lot faster then similar weighted artic.  I cant see why law cant be changed with tractor and trailer MOT's to say 32+ton and 50K,d plus the law is out of date full stop, if lorry's where still running by laws from 60years ago there'd be uproar! So we might as well just run MF 135 with 4 ton trailers and no brakes and be bankrupt and still unsafe!  Now I will say for farmers that run tractors just for haulage buy a lorry as can buy flotation tyres etc for 8 wheelers and make it hookloader so more versatile the kiwi's have got it sussed on that part, but for us with tractors doing max 200hrs or so carting at harvest and in some horid conditions lorrys are out full stop!

The New Holland overalls were on offer hence why I have them, managed to burn a large hole in my Deere ones in the crotch area while using a 9 inch grinder ;D

So not just me that finds deere overalls flamable had a few close calls that gets you hot under collar or beak

I'm on gavs side here with 7530 reliability as our one has been far from perfect with gearbox currently on way out and making very very unhealthy noises and having no balls anymore must be east anglian thing as I know of few locally as well, but all ones with autoquad are 100% even with some now touching 6000+hrs so seems to be autoquads are ok but I know ours is only one locally used hard as in 6 furrow mounted plough and pushed hard as in never under 34l/hr thats from meter!! So is how some people have so different experiences   not got anything against deere as had some fun times carting with autoquad ones.

But sad to hear the MF 7490 had some gremlins as I've always wanted to try a vario MF and think highly of most MF

The topcon system is good, it takes an hour and you can take it off the tractor and put it on the combine. Problem is it costs £10k and what benifits does it give for the 10K equal distances so you don't pass the same place more than once with the machines potentially saving fuel etc, but for 10k I'd recommend waiting a few years. I can't use the thing i've tried and when i've pulled my A-B line out it only then copies straight lines, my brothers been using it at home and thinks its brilliant, but he is a uni student with no common sense so it benifits him. Using it on the tractor to drill with doesn't bring much benifit if you are good and can drive in a straight line anyway you may as well not waste your money. the only thing i can see as a benefit is you can drive over the same place every year when you get it set right and if it remembers the field you in.

my verdict is nice system but a bit of a luxury unless your 3000 acres or so using unskilled labor which cant drive straight.

Now I'm by no means an expert but thought I'd place my view as we are over 3300 acres so do run it and I wouldn't class any of us as unskilled labour by no means.  We are running GPS on the combine, fert spreader, sprayer and cultivation tractors.  And being able to run a tractor straight at exactly 6m+ for 16 hours a day for 2+ months is impossible I dont care what kind driver you are. It saves us litterally thousands every year in metal, diesel, time and job quality.  We run a gps system that moved from spreader to combine but it now moves over to challenger in summer it's only 45mins to move mind you challenger has its own screen now so is easier.  On the drill it has massive benefits, you watch what the machine is doing not where your going so job overall is better.  My GPS on sprayer has been vital this year only got lightbar guidance and auto section but making new tramlines in rape and keeping it right in badly rolled crops of wheat has meant all year we have tramlines that are right saving a lot chemical and its going on in right place!  But having seen this any farm can even afford a simple system as will quickly reap the benefits if spraying, cultivating, spreading, drilling and row crop work.  So I think gav is perfectly right to look into it and I have Topcon in my sprayer and have no issue with it mate.

We felt the very same about the puma we had on demo we had the 225 cvx though but same range we were pulling 7 furrow 17 inches wide at 28L hour we were very impressed!!! Were on serious look out now for 7530 as starting to play up had dealer out 4 times in a week for fairly major faults not good for a 2000 hour tractor.  But pick what  ever does the job for you mate   Its amazing how much some manufacturers have moved on and what ones havn't..

Getting to know local farmers only lived in area since June last year but few those names ringing a bell all fellow competition   but then if you know my bosses will know what award we got this year though

Just outside Colchester with land from Sudbury all way over to Great Bardfield

great pictures and stunning machinery

Cheers and better half says thank you as well

They came from Ernest Does at Colchester as far as I'm aware but probably originated from ulting